Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was the navy of Japan from 1868 to 1945, and by 1920 it was the third-largest navy in the world after the end of World War I. Although the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War saw the IJN destroy their enemies, World War II left the navy annihilated, and it was dissolved after the defeat. With great leaders like Heihachiro Togo and Isoroku Yamamoto, the Imperial Japanese Navy won great battles like the Battle of the Yalu River, Battle of Tsushima, and the Battle of the Java Sea, but defeats at the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf left the navy diminished, with all but one Japanese capital ship being sunk by the US Navy by July 1945.